Publisher's Summary

When Nigel Baxter, a middle-aged married banker with an unremarkable past, is found dead in the bath of a plush hotel suite, his wrists slit, it looks as if he's taken his own life. At first. But when Detective Inspector Daniel Riley is assigned to the case, he soon realises all isn't as it first appears to be. When a postmortem shows Baxter was poisoned, Riley suspects foul play. And then there's the odd addition of a teddy bear left at the crime scene.... Struggling to come to terms with the loss of his fiancée, Rachel, in a freak motorcycle accident and the baby she was carrying inside her, Riley throws himself into the case in a bid to distract himself from his grief. And his infamous intuition is telling him something is off, really off on this one. With the help of his dedicated team, Riley begins to delve into Baxter's life and soon realises that the amenable family man has been indulging in the 'services' of some dubious websites, ones where young women hook up with older men in return for 'favours', and there's one woman in particular he'd like to speak to. A woman calling herself Goldilocks....

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful

4 out of 5 stars
By
Simon
on
03-03-18

Riley Promises an Interesting Ride to Come

You can really settle down with this one as DI Dan Riley chats away to you throughout what I would call a character-based thriller. He's highly personable and not imbued with any super-hero like qualities. Just a good, solid detective with of course a backstory and personal life that is just a little problematic and indeed tragic. He carries the story for the most part and I certainly wouldn't describe this as a police procedural, in fact I would go as far as to say that by modern day standards the plot is a little naive in that area.

Paired against him is as twisted a lady psychopath as you're likely to imagine, this is obvious from the very opening scene and the insights into her mind are rather less comfortable. Although it likely won't appeal to everyone the chatty style was something I enjoyed, it is compact and direct writing and the story held enough suspense to make it enjoyable listening throughout.

The narration by James Lailey fits the book like a glove, he imbued a lot of personality into Riley and delivered a chillingly matter of fact Goldilocks.

So, not one I'd suggest for people who prefer detailed procedural details but a very decent story with a lead character I felt considerable empathy with. Yet another series I'd like to have the time to follow!

Good start to a new series

Liked this very much - good plot, strong characters and very well read. Like another reviewer I found it a refreshing change not to have a detective embroiled in hostility with the hierarchy back at base. As you are aware of the killer at the beginning there aren't many surprises in store but the storyline has been well thought out. I did think the ending was a little weak but don't let my view of that put you off, Dan Riley really is a good 'find' and I am very much hoping that this series will continue - when I had finished this listen I was very disappointed to find there wasn't another one ready to download!